.308 Garand Question

I'm going to take a look at a Garand tomorrow that is reportedly chambered in .308. It is a Harrington & Richardson and I'm told it was manufactured pretty near the end of production. I have heard good and bad things about Garands in .308 but two that concern me are:
how can I tell if the barrel is one with an insert or bushing used to convert it form a .30-06 to a 7.62 x 51? Can I even tell, is it marked in some way? The other is I have heard some say a 7.62 x 51 may be a .308 but it's not a Winchester .308 and you can't just go out and shoot it until you know what kind of ammo it takes. Again, can I tell by looking/measure it myself or is this something better left to a competent gun smith? I do own a Garand manufactured by Springfield with a 1944 receiver rebuilt in 1953 but it is chambered in .30-06 and this is the only Garand I have any experience with and I have zero with one in .308.
I have not seen the gun yet so am no help in answering any questions at this point but I was thinking I might want to stay away from one that has an insert that may work lose and pop out with a casing and probably don't want one that is difficult to find ammo for. Any thoughts or tips would be appreciated.

First, the barrel will be marked as a standard H&R barrel if it has an insert unless it's been changed to another military barrel. Still it will have standard markings. That's if it's got in insert. If it's a rebarrel in 7.62 it should be marked.

Second, don't worry about the ammo. The internet is solely responsible for the panic you just discussed. I have a .308 barrel on an SA rifle and shoot whatever 7.62 or .308 comes to hand. I use an adjustable gas cylinder lock screw. (Gas plug) It shoots marvelously and has never missed a beat, I rebarrelled it myself. Did the finish ream too. Before that I had one with the insert which I installed, it never worked loose and I shot it extensively.

Thanks much browningautorifle! I'm such a rookie when it comes to all this. I'd seen a lot of arguments on YouTube about the .308 and it was confusing at best.

We've had the same preachings here too don't worry. All the old guys can tell you is from experience, we've shot .308 and 7.62 from the same guns for decades and never had an issue of ANY kind. Look into the adjustable gas plugs though...

What BAR said. The same holds true for .223 Remington and 5.56 NATO.

Just to clarify, a sleeved gun will have a barrel with the 6535448 drawing number. It will probably have H&R or AMF stamps and 7.62mm, but the original barrel was 30-06. The 7.62 barrel has a different number, like SA 11010457 or 11686514

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bob seijas

6535448 drawing number. It will probably have H&R or AMF stamps and 7.62mm, but the original barrel was 30-06. The 7.62 barrel has a different number, like SA 11010457 or 11686514

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Thanks Bob, that was EXACTLY what he needed...

I went to take a look at it today. Very nice probably the stock has been refinished maybe the whole thing. The action is smooth the trigger feels great. I couldn't do too much with it but I have attached a few pics of the barrel. The rear sight aperture has the hood and the front sight looks GI but also like it was added later as it does not match the rest of the finish.

The sights are probably National Match sights so they're special, they're marked NM and they're new. The barrel appears to be a new made stainless barrel, which doesn't surprise me. The muzzle break is unnecessary, but someone loved it. Your choice about that piece. The sling doesn't belong in the piling swivel up on the gas cylinder. Looks good though, I think this barrel is chambered in 7.62 not adapted from 30 Cal. There are other tells about how good a NM rifle is but this one appears to be good.

And there is still a ton of 7.62 NATO surplus out there. haven't priced it in a few years but the last time it was around 50 cents a round You can cut that to around 2 bits a round if you reload